Celebrating with Brock and Camille meant not just participating in their wedding, but traveling with my main squeeze. Who knew Sioux Falls, South Dakota was just a fun place to be? Anthony and I had a fantastic time working together- a rare treat for us- and couldn't have had a cuter couple to work with.

Brock and Camille had all the perfect ingredients for a wedding day. Gorgeous weather? Check. Tons of family and friends? Check. Great music? Check. Yummy cake? Check. Perfection for sure!

My wish for you is that your love for each other will grow day by day, but even more than that, I hope that you are blessed to be each other's best friend for the rest of your life!

One of the best parts about my business is watching families grow up and celebrating many special and significant moments with them.

I've gotten to watch Brock grow up in front of my camera from the Little Brother at his sister's wedding, to his high school graduation, now falling in love, and soon becoming a husband! Having that opportunity is such an honor to me.

Brock and his lovely Bride-to-be were so much fun to work with. They were willing to go for it with all my ideas, let me drag them around to several locations and didn't even mock me (too much) when I told them my age and was off by a solid 10 years (it how old you feel right?).

Camille told me during our consult that she dislikes having her picture taken. This is something that I hear all the time, and also totally relate to. Getting in front of the camera can feel hard. Body image for women, especially in this day and age is hard! However, Camille rocked her session beautifully - like model level! Seriously, how cute is she?

I adore engagement sessions. Young love is so beautiful, natural, and affection happens so organically. Watching the gentleness, kindness and tenderness between a couple is good for my soul.

I also love engagement session from a strictly business point of view. Having a "trial run" before the wedding has so many benefits. From a photographer's side, it gives me an opportunity to get to know you, what makes you smile, how to help you relax in front of the camera, your "best" side, if you blink a lot, etc. All those little things I am watching for during engagement pictures helps so much on the Big Day. A potential downside is that you might already know all my cheesy jokes on the wedding day, but that's a risk I'm willing to take ("Two guys walk into a bar. The third guy....")

I love hearing your stories; how you met, what attracted you to each other, the proposal, etc.

It's personal. And that's one reason I love my job.

Candice and Martin were the perfect couple - beautiful and sweet. As my first engagement session this spring, they reminded me again why I love this so much. Even though spring can be unpredictable, Candice was flexible and fantastic and we ended up having a perfect night for their photographs.

I love how Candice and Martin made each other smile.

I love how comfortable and safe Candice looked in Martin's arms.

I loved hearing about the wedding plans and all the personalized plans that show their uniqueness as a couple.

And, of course I love that they are from northeast Nebraska - my home!

One of the joys of my job is how it connects me to people I wouldn't have met otherwise. Beautiful people like Bri!

As we went through our initial consultation in preparation for their engagement session, Bri told me that she loved the rustic beauty of the country. We talked about what she and Mark love to do together, where they are most comfortable, then we settled on heading to Mark's childhood home for our photos.

Mark's childhood home was one beautiful surprise after another! Bri had never been upstairs in the barn, and as we walked up it took our breath away! What a beautiful piece of history. I loved hearing Mark talk about how as children they would play basketball up here.

As I was driving to Mark's home place I had driven past a beautiful green field. As we talked about it, Mark contacted his neighbor to get permission to shoot there, then we walked up this path, over the hill and found...

THIS!!!

There is just no place quite like Nebraska for a sunset. The rolling fields, beautiful pond and amazing sunset finished off our night in the most beautiful way I could have imagined.

One of the most common phrases I hear since having Adeline is "I bet you have some great pictures of her / Do you just take pictures of her all day?" While I do have tons of pictures of this little sweetie, the old adage that the shoemaker's children have no shoes is also true.

I was determined that I would actually go through her pictures and make a special video for my and my little family. I'm only a week past my deadline too!

Our year has been amazing. My heart is overwhelmed by all the sweet moments our family has had and the joy of baby in our household. It's almost more than I can process even! Pip has been the sweetest baby, and T has been the best brother- well, as brothers go! I cannot image our family any other way.

We would love your comments on this post to celebrate Pip's birthday and her miracle story.

Every baby is a miracle, but it was my personal joy to snuggle brave little Kate. She is a baby that I have prayed for and petitioned the Lord on her behalf, and to hold her in my arms and take pictures of her adoring family was one of those special moments in time that you tuck away into your heart.

I am a Nebraska girl and love the wide open spaces of our tiny hometown, but I also love the conveniences of the city (Oh, Hello Starbucks!). I fall prey to the hypnotic effects of Target, (”I only need 1 thing... how did all of this end up in my cart????”) and I frequently spend the time that I should be doing my laundry on dreaming about my next vacation/stay-cation.

Anthony (the original [B]) is the love of my life and adventure partner. He has faithfully supported me and loved me through thick and thin for 15+ years now. We are big fans of marriage and I am a much better person because of him.

Thank you so much for trusting me to photograph your most precious treasures in life- your family! I love being a part of your celebrations, monumental moments, as well as documenting the sweetness of everyday life that when you’ll miss the most. Without you, living my dream would not be possible.